ffbk Architekten

Mulitpurpose hall Oensingen

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Place

Studio

Photos

Johannes Marburg

Description

The new multipurpose hall continues and completes the series of individual buildings along the school complex’s central circulation axis. The outdoor sports facilities are compactly arranged along the river. The simple hall volume is embedded in the terrain, with only one above-ground storey. Monolithic insulating concrete was used, enabling a sculptural approach to be taken to the structure, while the pattern of windows across the surface gives the flat, elongated volume a pleasant rhythmic relief. Recesses in the entrance front create a layer of space that reinforces the impression of depth and plasticity in the building volume. This layer is pierced to create the main entrance and all secondary spaces, which are arranged along the visitors level on the ground floor. To allow visitors and athletes to go their separate ways, the athletes are guided from the entrance via a separate stairway directly to the locker rooms on the lower level. The cadence of the entrance front – open versus closed, views through the building versus secondary spaces – is repeated on the other façades. This results in façade patterns that correspond on the exterior and in the interior, with varied vistas through and into the building. The logic of the concrete volume entails a reduction in materials. Only where technically necessary or required by use, the exposed concrete is complemented by other materials, for example in the wet areas or with acoustic panels.